I look around town. I'm looking for an elf girl.

This girl has long, blond hair with a hint of blue. Apart from the fact that she's always lonely, I can't see anything else.

I put my mask on, take a few coins out of my inventory. I don't even know why I put the mask on again.

I approach a stand with a red devil standing behind it. The stand had a large frying pan with a fire underneath and there were large pieces of meat being cooked.

«Sir, I'd like a few pieces of meat!» (Me)

The red devil looks at me, smiles and, as he takes a few coins from my hand, puts a few pieces of juicy, tender meat on a piece of paper and hands it to me along with the change. It was all done in a single movement.

I jump onto a rooftop and put a piece of meat in my mouth.

(Me)

I look at Kit, who is salivating like a wild animal.

«Here, have some!» (Me)

(Kit)

Kit takes a bite and his eyes start to shine. He then gulps the rest in one go.

-Now that I think about it... does he ever even eat? Does he hunt when I'm not looking?-

I refrained from asking anything and kept on eating the delicious, juicy, marvelous... I'm salivating again...

I finish the meat and get up with a single jump.

-Let's see...-

I hop from rooftop to rooftop in search of any elves with the said characteristics. I searched for a few hours but all the one I found were either man or weren't lonely at all.

(Me)

While thinking about it, I start to get a bit melancholic and sad.

(Kit)

-You're not helping me feel less sad now!-

I end up not saying anything and jumped over the wall again. Since we're talking about an elf, I'll look for a forest.

After circling the city, I could only find a single forest where she could be. It's the only forest within a kilometer of the city.

I walk in and an ominous feeling permeates my body.

(Kit)

-So that's what that feeling is. I'll take note.-

I keep on walking and as the ominous feeling gets stronger, I arrive at an opening in the forest.

In there, there were at least hundreds of monsters, all circling a single point. There were all kinds of monsters from wolf monsters to lion monsters to giant serpent monsters to monsters that didn't look like anything at all.

(Me)

(Kit)

The point they were all surrounding was, as we thought, the elf girl. She was sitting in the middle of them all, curled into a ball and looking at the ground.

She was a stunning beauty, more than worthy of an elves fame with her slender and tall figure. The only thing that ruined it were her eyes, scarred and tired from crying in the dark, alone.

(Me)

The monsters all start to move as they feel my presence. I start to prepare myself to save her at any moment by creating the claws I had been experimenting but... They didn't move in her direction. Against all my expectations, they turned their backs on her and looked straight at me, not moving an inch from their place.

-Are they protecting her?-

Some monsters that were already within attack range of her start rubbing themselves against her like a pet would comfort its master.

(Me)

(Kit)

(Me)

(Kit)

Kit proudly walks forward. The monsters take a defensive stance but after a few minutes, the monsters make a path leading to the elf girl. Kit looks at me and proudly wags his tail.

-foxy fox...-

I walk forward through the path that just opened before me.

(Kit)

(Me)

Kit rolls on the floor.

I approach the elf girl and stop a single step away from her. I get on my knees and wait for a bit. She had her eyes fixated on the flood and didn't even see me arriving or the monsters.

She slowly looks up at me and panic fills her.

«D-Don't hurt me! Please!» (Elf)

She starts crawling backward while keeping eye contact with me. Her whole face was twisted in fear.

-Luckily the monsters understand what is happening.-

«Please calm down.» (Me)

«You're here to take my head as well aren't you?» (Elf)

«No...» (Me)

«These are my only friends! You are just like the others! You don't understand!» (Elf)

(Me)

(Kit)

-I... would she understand?-

I get up and start walking in her direction. She keeps crawling, now faster than ever.

«GET AWAY FROM ME!» (Elf)

She is covered in her own mucus, crying and screaming in despair as her back hits the giant wolf monster that is laying down behind her. The monster showed no signs of moving.

When her breathing starts to get euphoric and absurdly irregular, I sit down and slowly take my mask off and store it in my inventory. Would I have taken another step and she would just blackout. I'm 2 meters away from her.

«I'm not like the others» (Me)

The elf girl keeps kicking wildly for half an hour until she gets too tired to move.

«Why don't my friends help me... I have been abandoned again...» (Elf)

-Abandoned? Again?-

«Just kill me...» (Elf)

«I won't kill you.» (Me)

«You'll make a living curse like me a slave then?» (Elf)

«I won't make you into a slave.» (Me)

The elf girl's eyes open slightly when hearing my words.

«What will you do then?» (Elf)

«I'll help you.» (Me)

«Why would you help me if no one ever did...?» (Elf)

«Because I'm not like the others.» (Me)

A single tear falls from her right eye. Her face starts twisting like that of a baby who's about to cry. But she held that in.

«Can I hear about your past? It's alright for you not to tell me if it's too much. We're quite similar after all.» (Me)

Her eyes open wide and little light shines deep in there.

«Similar?» (Elf)

«Yes. I was born human. I was the second son of a noble family. Ever since I was little, I trained to protect my people just like my father did. Because of that, my father said "You see that village over there? That'll be the first village under you're control once you become independent!" while pointing at a certain village close to our home. I ended up going there as much as I could. I would help them by doing a bit of everything. The adults would treat me as their son and the kids would treat me as their siblings. I was happy. Truly, truly happy. But soon I would learn that nothing lasts forever. That very same village got attacked by a lion beast demon. I was willing to sacrifice my life for theirs, just like the truly wise leader that I always wanted to be but something different happened. A dark power awakened within me. That power had a mind of its own and led me to defeat the demon, who fled the battlefield. "I'm their hero". That's what I thought but... truth is harsh. For them, I wasn't their wise leader or their hero. I was a monster. I started isolating myself from everything. Everyone hated and feared me now. The only people who didn't were my father and little sister. My father, in what I thought to be an attempt to cheer me up, took me to fly on the family's wind dragon. He knew I always wanted to fly on it and used that opportunity to... stab me and throw me out to die... I was miraculously saved by demons. I was ironically saved by the lion beast demon that I almost killed a few days back. I entered a weird state, I didn't know what I was and that other me, that dark power, led me to forget that I even was something. I started traveling along with that lion and his lover, eventually, I found the love of my life, and kept traveling until I got here. Believe it or not... only a few days ago did I actually realize who I really am...» (Me)

The elf girl shed a tear. It's not a sad tear. It's a happy one. A hope-filled tear.

-Who I am... I'm... the "thing" that was born from such a past... I'm myself... That's who I am! The entity born from those livings! Maybe I shouldn't have just killed that kid for a skill the other day... Perhaps a single arm was good enough. I don't know anymore.-

«Now, can I hear your past?» (Me)

«I...» (Elf)

She gulped and filled herself with as much determination as he could.

«I was born from a normal... elf family. I led a normal elf life. I practiced my bow like my mother wanted me to. I had friends and family but... A "monster" killed my mother and cuddled next to me. From then on, I was seen as cursed. Every day, I would get stoned and beaten. The only time I found at peace was when I entered this forest. "Monsters" would come to play with me. They didn't care about anything. I felt loved. They were my only friends. Their numbers kept on increasing and because of that, I got banished for the city. I started living here with them, only to see them getting slaughtered every day, trying to protect me. People would always aim for me. I was their target all along. But my friends kept on dying and dying and dying and dying and dying...» (Elf)

As the despair on her face increases, I put my hand in the air, telling her that it's enough.

«I think I understand. You are just like me then. Just different circumstances.» (Me)

She wipes the tears off her face a tries to smile. It's clear that she hasn't smiled in quite a lot of time.

«Will you join me in my mission to change the world?» (Me)

«Yes!» (Elf)

(Kit)

(Me)

(Kit)